The short interest in GE rose 20 million shares to 46 million in March. Maybe some clever shorts think the stock, which has been slightly down, is due to fall on the slightest hint of bad news.

Since the beginning of the year, GE (GE) shares have dropped almost 5%, while shares of rival Siemens (SI) are up over 10%. Over the last six months, the spread is even wider.

Wall St. still seem concerned that GE’s plastics business under-performs and that NBCUniversal does not belong as part of the company at all. Of course, GE’s financial operations are subject to all kinds of market forces. The sub-prime lending industry collapse does not help ease those concerns, especially since GE owns WMC Mortgage.

Douglas A. McIntyre